Chapter 1 of Sonny Boy is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sonny Boy is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup. She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before. And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate. Aunt Kate! All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
Chapter 1 of Sonny Boy is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading “All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.”
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading “And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.”
past form of “prick” — make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn
From this reading “All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading “All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.”
liquid food especially of meat or fish or vegetable stock often containing pieces of solid food
From this reading “A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.”
having come into contact
From this reading “A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.”
plural of “visitor” — someone who visits
From this reading “She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
raise
In this reading “All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.”
In this reading “A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.”
In this reading “A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.”
In this reading “And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.”
In this reading “And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
a condition of urgency making it necessary to hurry
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
past form of “prick” — make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
liquid food especially of meat or fish or vegetable stock often containing pieces of solid food
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
having come into contact
From this reading A GREAT SURPRISE FOR THE PLUMMERS Mamma Plummer read a letter at the dinner-table before she touched her soup.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
plural of “visitor” — someone who visits
From this reading She had been having visitors and had not had time to look at it before.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And she was always in a hurry to hear from Aunt Kate.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading All seven of the young Plummers pricked up their ears.
Chapter 1 of Sonny Boy by Sophie Swett holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 65 sentences of Sonny Boy, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sonny Boy by Sophie Swett exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 sentences, grouped into 13 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Sonny Boy by Sophie Swett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 419 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 34 minutes of reading across 84 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sonny Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Sonny Boy to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Sonny Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
